LIVES AND OPINIONS OF EMINENT PHILOSOPHERS
BY DIOGENES LAERTIOS

 

Diogenes Laertios Διογένης Λαέρτιος is thought to have lived in the first half of the 3^rd century AD. Little else is known about him. His only known book, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (Βίοι καὶ γνῶμαι τῶν ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ εὐδοκιμησάντων), is by far the greatest source of knowledge for the lives of the eighty-two ancient Greek philosophers included.

The translation used here is that by R. D. Hicks in the Loeb Classical Library volumes 184-5, published by the Harvard University Press in 1925.  Unfortunately, from the point of view of Greek love, Hicks was one of the worst Loeb translators, often obscuring, distorting or omitting homosexual content. Amendments to his text have accordingly been made, but these are always explained in footnotes. Additionally, his Romanisation of Greek names has been undone in favour of more literal transliteration.

 

II.5  Sokrates  Σωκράτης

Sokrates (469-399 BC) was an Athenian philosopher and stonemason best known from the dialogues of his pupil Plato.

19

When Anaxagoras was condemned, he became a pupil of Archelaos the physicist; he was also his loved-boy according to Aristoxenos.[1]

μετὰ τὴν ἐκείνου καταδίκην διήκουσεν Ἀρχελάου τοῦ φυσικοῦ· οὗ καὶ παιδικὰ γενέσθαι φησὶν Ἀριστόξενος.

 

23

Again, he served at Potidaia, whither he had gone by sea, as land communications were interrupted by the war; and while there he is said to have remained a whole night without changing his position, and to have won the prize of valour. But he resigned it to Alkibiades, for whom he cherished the tenderest affection, according to Aristippos in the fourth book of his treatise On the Luxury of the Ancients.

ἐστρατεύσατο δὲ καὶ εἰς Ποτίδαιαν διὰ θαλάττης· πεζῇ γὰρ οὐκ ἐνῆν τοῦ πολέμου κωλύοντος. ὅτε καὶ μεῖναι διὰ νυκτὸς ὅλης ἐφ᾿ ἑνὸς σχήματος αὐτόν φασι, καὶ ἀριστεύσαντα αὐτόθι παραχωρῆσαι Ἀλκιβιάδῃ τοῦ ἀριστείου· οὗ καὶ ἐρασθῆναί φησιν αὐτὸν Ἀρίστιππος ἐν τετάρτῳ Περὶ παλαιᾶς τρυφῆς.

 

31

and according to some he ignored the beauty of Alkibiades. [2]

καὶ τὸ κάλλος ὑπερεῖδεν Ἀλκιβιάδου κατά τινας.

 

II.6  Xenophon  Ξενοφῶν

Xenophon (ca. 430-355/4 BC) was an Athenian general and historian.

 49

Aristippos, in the fourth book of his work On the Luxury of the Ancients, declares that he was enamoured of Kleinias[3], and said in reference to him, “It is sweeter for me to gaze on Kleinias than on all the fair sights in the world. I would be content to be blind to everything else if I could but gaze on him alone. I am vexed with the night and with sleep because I cannot see Kleinias, and most grateful to the day and the sun for showing him to me.”

Καὶ αὐτόν φησιν Ἀρίστιππος ἐν τετάρτῳ Περὶ παλαιᾶς τρυφῆς ἐρασθῆναι Κλεινίου· πρὸς ὃν καὶ ταῦτα εἰπεῖν· “νῦν γὰρ ἐγὼ Κλεινίαν ἥδιον μὲν θεῶμαι ἢ τἄλλα πάντα τὰ ἐν ἀνθρώποις καλά· τυφλὸς δὲ τῶν ἄλλων πάντων δεξαίμην ἂν ἢ Κλεινίου ἑνὸς ὄντος γενέσθαι· ἄχθομαι δὲ καὶ νυκτὶ καὶ ὕπνῳ, ὅτι ἐκεῖνον οὐχ ὁρῶ· ἡμέρᾳ δὲ καὶ ἡλίῳ τὴν μεγίστην χάριν οἶδα, ὅτι μοι Κλεινίαν ἀναφαίνουσι.”

 

II.8  Aristippos  Ἀρίστιππος

Aristippos the elder(ca. 435-ca. 356 BC) was a Cyrenaic philosopher. However, the philosopher whose views are presented in the following passage was not Aristippos, but another Cyrenaic philosopher, Theodoros, known as “the Godless” (ca. 340-ca.250 BC).

99

The wise man would indulge his passions openly without the least regard to circumstances. Hence he would use such arguments as this. “Is a woman who is skilled in grammar useful in so far as she is skilled in grammar?” “Yes.” “And is a boy or a youth skilled in grammar useful in so far as he is skilled in grammar?” “Yes.” “Again, is a woman who is beautiful useful in so far as she is beautiful? And would a boy or a youth who is beautiful be useful in so far as he is beautiful?” “Yes.” “So is he useful for sexual relations?”[4] When this was admitted, he would press the argument to the conclusion.“ So if anyone has sexual relations, in so far as this is useful, he does no wrong; nor, if he uses beauty, in so far as it is useful, will he do wrong.”[5]

φανερῶς δὲ τοῖς ἐρωμένοις ἄνευ πάσης ὑφοράσεως χρήσεσθαι τὸν σοφόν. διὸ καὶ τοιούτους λόγους ἠρώτα· “ἆρά γε γυνὴ γραμματικὴ χρήσιμος ἂν εἴη παρ᾿ ὅσον γραμματική ἐστι;” “ναί.” “καὶ παῖς καὶ νεανίσκος γραμματικὸς χρήσιμος ἂν εἴη παρ᾿ ὅσον γραμματικός ἐστι;” “ναί.” “οὐκοῦν καὶ γυνὴ καλὴ χρησίμη ἂν εἴη παρ᾿ ὅσον καλή ἐστι, καὶ παῖς καὶ νεανίσκος καλὸς χρήσιμος ἂν εἴη παρ᾿ ὅσον καλός ἐστι;” “ναί.” “καὶ παῖς ἄρα καὶ νεανίσκος καλὸς πρὸς τοῦτ᾿ ἂν 100εἴη χρήσιμος πρὸς ὃ καλός ἐστι;” “ναί.” “ἔστι δὲ χρήσιμος πρὸς τὸ πλησιάζειν.” ὧν δεδομένων ἐπῆγεν· “οὐκοῦν εἴ τις πλησιασμῷ χρώμενος παρ᾿ ὅσον χρήσιμός ἐστιν, οὐ διαμαρτάνει· οὐδ᾿ ἄρα εἰ κάλλει χρήσαιτο παρ᾿ ὅσον χρήσιμόν ἐστι, διαμαρτήσεται.”

 

II.9  Phaidon  Φαίδων

Phaidon (ca. 414 – 398+ BC) was an Elean philosopher.

105

Phaidon was a native of Elis, of noble family, who on the fall of that city[6] was taken captive and forcibly consigned to a brothel[7]. But he would close the door and so contrive to join Sokrates’ circle, and in the end Sokrates induced Alkibiades or Kriton with their friends to ransom him; from that time onwards he studied philosophy as became a free man.

Φαίδων Ἠλεῖος, τῶν εὐπατριδῶν, συνεάλω τῇ πατρίδι καὶ ἠναγκάσθη στῆναι ἐπ᾿ οἰκήματος· ἀλλὰ τὸ θύριον προστιθεὶς μετεῖχε Σωκράτους, ἕως αὐτὸν λυτρώσασθαι τοὺς περὶ Ἀλκιβιάδην ἢ Κρίτωνα προὔτρεψε· καὶ τοὐντεῦθεν ἐλευθερίως ἐφιλοσόφει.

 

 

III.  Plato  Πλάτων

“Plato” (ca. 426-348/7 BC, an Athenian whose real name was Aristokles Ἀριστοκλῆς, was the most famous of all Greek philosophers, wherefore Diogenes Laertios devoted a whole book to him.

29-32

Aristippos in his fourth book On the Luxury of the Ancients says that he was attached to a youth named Aster, who joined him in the study of astronomy, as also to Dion[8] who has been mentioned above, and, as some aver, to Phaidros[9] too. His passionate affection is revealed in the following epigrams which he is said to have written upon them:[10] Star-gazing Aster, would I were the skies, To gaze upon thee with a thousand eyes. And another: Among the living once the Morning Star, Thou shin’st, now dead, like Hesper from afar. And he wrote thus upon Dion:[11] Tears from their birth the lot had been Of Ilium’s daughters and their queen. By thee, O Dion, great deeds done New hopes and larger promise won. Now here thou liest gloriously, How deeply loved, how mourned by me. This, they say, was actually inscribed upon his tomb at Syracuse. Again, it is said that being enamoured of Alexis and Phaidros, as before mentioned, he composed the following lines:[12] Now, when Alexis is of no account, I have said no more than this. He is fair to see, and everywhere all eyes are turned upon him. Why, my heart, do you show the dogs a bone? And then will you smart for this hereafter? Was it not thus that we lost Phaidros? He is also credited with a mistress, […] There is another upon Agathon:[13] While kissing Agathon, my soul leapt to my lips, as if fain, alas! to pass over to him.

[29] Ἀρίστιππος δ᾿ ἐν τῷ τετάρτῳ Περὶ παλαιᾶς τρυφῆς φησιν αὐτὸν Ἀστέρος μειρακίου τινὸς ἀστρολογεῖν συνασκουμένου ἐρασθῆναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ Δίωνος τοῦ προειρημένου—ἔνιοι καὶ Φαίδρου φασί—. δηλοῦν δὲ τὸν ἔρωτα αὐτοῦ τάδε τὰ ἐπιγράμματα, ἃ καὶ πρὸς αὐτοῦ γενέσθαι εἰς αὐτούς· ἀστέρας εἰσαθρεῖς Ἀστὴρ ἐμός· εἴθε γενοίμην οὐρανός, ὡς πολλοῖς ὄμμασιν εἰς σὲ βλέπω. καὶ ἄλλο· ἀστὴρ πρὶν μὲν ἔλαμπες ἐνὶ ζῳοῖσιν Ἑῷος, νῦν δὲ θανὼν λάμπεις Ἕσπερος ἐν φθιμένοις. [30] εἰς δὲ τὸν Δίωνα ὧδε· δάκρυα μὲν Ἑκάβῃ τε καὶ Ἰλιάδεσσι γυναιξὶ Μοῖραι ἐπέκλωσαν δὴ τότε γεινομέναις, σοὶ δέ, Δίων, ῥέξαντι καλῶν ἐπινίκιον ἔργων δαίμονες εὐροίας ἐλπίδας ἐξέχεαν. κεῖσαι δ᾿ εὐρυχόρῳ ἐν πατρίδι τίμιος ἀστοῖς, ὦ ἐμὸν ἐκμήνας θυμὸν ἔρωτι Δίων. [31] τοῦτο καὶ ἐπιγεγράφθαι φησὶν ἐν Συρακούσαις ἐπὶ τῷ τάφῳ. Ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἀλέξιδος, φασίν, ἐρασθεὶς καὶ Φαίδρου, καθὰ προείρηται, τοῦτον ἐποίησε τὸν τρόπον· νῦν, ὅτε μηδὲν Ἄλεξις ὅσον μόνον εἶφ᾿ ὅτι καλός, ὦπται καὶ πάντῃ πᾶς τις ἐπιστρέφεται. θυμέ, τί μηνύεις κυσὶν ὀστέον; εἶτ᾿ ἀνιήσῃ ὕστερον; οὐχ οὕτω Φαῖδρον ἀπωλέσαμεν; ἔχειν τε Ἀρχεάνασσαν, […] [32] ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς Ἀγάθωνα· τὴν ψυχὴν Ἀγάθωνα φιλῶν ἐπὶ χείλεσιν εἶχον· ἦλθε γὰρ ἡ τλήμων ὡς διαβησομένη.

Two love poems to maidens next concludes Diogenes Laertios’s quotation of Plato’s amorous epigrams.

 

 

IV.3  Polemon  Πολέμων

Polemon (born before 335 BC; died 276/269 BC) was Scholarch of the Academy at Athens.

17

Antigonos of Carystus in his Biographies says that his father was foremost among the citizens and kept horses to compete in the chariot-race; that Polemo himself had been defendant in an action brought by his wife, who charged him with cruelty owing to his affairs with adolescent boys;[14]

Φησὶ δὲ Ἀντίγονος ὁ Καρύστιος ἐν τοῖς Βίοις τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ πρῶτόν τε εἶναι τῶν πολιτῶν καὶ ἁρματοτροφῆσαι. φυγεῖν δὲ τὸν Πολέμωνα καὶ δίκην κακώσεως ὑπὸ τῆς γυναικός, ὡς μειρακίοις συνόντα.

 

 

IV.4  Krates  Κράτης

Krates (died 268/64 BC) succeeded the foregoing Polemon as Scholarch of the Academy of Athens.

21-22

Krates, whose father was Antigenes, was an Athenian belonging to the deme of Thria. He was a pupil and at the same time the beloved[15] of Polemon, whom he succeeded in the headship of the school. The two were so much attached to each other that they not only shared the same pursuits in life but grew more and more alike to their latest breath, and, dying, shared the same tomb. Hence Antagoras, writing of both, employed this figure[16]: Passing stranger, say that in this tomb rest godlike Krates and Polemon, men magnanimous in concord, from whose inspired lips flowed sacred speech, and whose pure life of wisdom, in accordance with unswerving tenets, decked them for a bright immortality. Hence Arkesilaos[17], who had quitted Theophrastos[18] and gone over to their school, said of them that they were gods or a remnant of the Golden Age. […] According to Antigonos, their common table was in the house of Krantor; and these two and Arkesilaos lived in harmony together. Arkesilaos and Krantor shared the same house, while Polemon and Krates lived with Lysikles, one of the citizens. Krates, as already stated, was the favourite[19] of Polemon and Arkesilaos of Krantor.

[21] Κράτης πατρὸς μὲν ἦν Ἀντιγένους Ἀθηναῖος, Θριάσιος δὲ τῶν δήμων, ἀκροατὴς ἅμα καὶ ἐρώμενος Πολέμωνος· ἀλλὰ καὶ διεδέξατο τὴν σχολὴν αὐτοῦ. καὶ οὕτως ἀλλήλω ἐφιλείτην ὥστε καὶ ζῶντε οὐ μόνον τῶν αὐτῶν ἤστην ἐπιτηδευμάτων, ἀλλὰ καὶ μέχρι σχεδὸν ἀναπνοῆς ἐξωμοιώσθην ἀλλήλοιν καὶ θανόντε τῆς αὐτῆς ταφῆς ἐκοινωνείτην. ὅθεν Ἀνταγόρας εἰς ἄμφω τοῦτον ἐποίησε τὸν τρόπον· μνήματι τῷδε Κράτητα θεουδέα καὶ Πολέμωνα ἔννεπε κρύπτεσθαι, ξεῖνε, παρερχόμενος, ἄνδρας ὁμοφροσύνῃ μεγαλήτορας, ὧν ἄπο μῦθος ἱερὸς ἤϊσσεν δαιμονίου στόματος, καὶ βίοτος καθαρὸς σοφίας ἐπὶ θεῖον ἐκόσμει αἰῶν᾿ ἀστρέπτοις δόγμασι πειθόμενος. [22] ἔνθεν καὶ Ἀρκεσίλαον μετελθόντα παρὰ Θεοφράστου πρὸς αὐτοὺς λέγειν ὡς εἶεν θεοί τινες ἢ λείψανα τῶν ἐκ τοῦ χρυσοῦ γένους. […] συσσίτιον δέ φησιν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἀντίγονος εἶναι παρὰ Κράντορι, ὁμονόως συμβιούντων τούτων τε καὶ Ἀρκεσιλάου. τὴν δὲ οἴκησιν Ἀρκεσίλαον μὲν ἔχειν μετὰ Κράντορος, Πολέμωνα δὲ σὺν Κράτητι μετὰ Λυσικλέους τινὸς τῶν πολιτῶν. ἦν δέ, φησίν, ἐρώμενος, Κράτης μέν, ὡς προείρηται, Πολέμωνος· Ἀρκεσίλαος δὲ Κράντορος.

 

IV.5  Krantor  Κράντωρ

Krantor (before 335 BC-276/5 BC) was a philosopher from Soli in Kilikia who joined the Academy at Athens.

24-25

He happened to fall ill, and retired to the temple of Asclepeios, where he proceeded to walk about. At once people flocked round him in the belief that he had retired thither, not on account of illness, but in order to open a school. Among them was Arkesilaos, who wished to be introduced by his means to Polemon, notwithstanding Kantor being his lover[20], as will be related in the life of Arkesilaos. However, when he recovered, he continued to attend Polemon’s lectures, and for this he was universally praised. He is also said to have left Arkesilaos his property, to the value of twelve talents.

[24] οὗτος νοσήσας εἰς τὸ Ἀσκληπιεῖον ἀνεχώρησε κἀκεῖ περιεπάτει· οἱ δὲ πανταχόθεν προσῄεσαν αὐτῷ, νομίζοντες οὐ διὰ νόσον, ἀλλὰ βούλεσθαι αὐτόθι σχολὴν συστήσασθαι. ὧν ἦν καὶ Ἀρκεσίλαος θέλων ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ συστῆναι Πολέμωνι, καίπερ ἐρῶντος, ὡς ἐν τῷ περὶ Ἀρκεσιλάου λέξομεν. [25] ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸν ὑγιάναντα διακούειν Πολέμωνος, ἐφ᾿ ᾧ καὶ μάλιστα θαυμασθῆναι. λέγεται δὲ καὶ τὴν οὐσίαν καταλιπεῖν Ἀρκεσιλάῳ, ταλάντων οὖσαν δυοκαίδεκα.

 

 

IV.6  Arkesilaos  Ἀρκεσίλαος

Arkesilaos (316/5-241/0 BC) was an Aiolian philosopher who succeeded the foregoing Krates as Scholarch of the Academy at Athens. In elaboration of who he was, the introductory lines about him are included.

28

Arkesilaos, the son of Seuthes, according to Apollodoros in the third book of his Chronology, came from Pitane in Aiolis. With him begins the Middle Academy; he was the first to suspend his judgement owing to the contradictions of opposing arguments. He was also the first to argue on both sides of a question, and the first to meddle with the system handed down by Plato and, by means of question and answer, to make it more closely resemble eristic.

[28] Ἀρκεσίλαος Σεύθου, ὡς Ἀπολλόδωρος ἐν τρίτῳ Χρονικῶν), Πιτάνης τῆς Αἰολίδος. οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τῆς μέσης Ἀκαδημείας κατάρξας, πρῶτος ἐπισχὼν τὰς ἀποφάσεις διὰ τὰς ἐναντιότητας τῶν λόγων. πρῶτος δὲ καὶ εἰς ἑκάτερον ἐπεχείρησε, καὶ πρῶτος τὸν λόγον ἐκίνησε τὸν ὑπὸ Πλάτωνος παραδεδομένον καὶ ἐποίησε δι᾿ ἐρωτήσεως καὶ ἀποκρίσεως ἐριστικώτερον.

 

29-31

Next he studied under Xanthos, the musician, of Athens; then he was a pupil of Theophrastos. Lastly, he crossed over to the Academy and joined Krantor. For while his brother Moireas, who has already been mentioned, wanted to make him a rhetorician, he was himself devoted to philosophy, and Krantor, being enamoured of him, cited the line from the Andromeda of Euripides[21]: O maiden, if I save thee, wilt thou be grateful to me? and was answered with the next line[22]: Take me, stranger, whether for maidservant or for wife. After that they lived together. Whereupon Theophrastos, nettled at his loss, is said to have remarked, “What a quick-witted and ready pupil has left my school!” For, besides being most effective in argument and decidedly fond of writing books, he also took up poetry. […] And again upon Menodoros, the beloved[23] of Eugamos, one of his fellow-students[24] [he wrote this poem]: Far, far away are Phrygia and sacred Thyateira, thy native land, Menodorus, son of Kadanos. But to unspeakable Acheron the ways are equal, from whatever place they be measured, as the proverb saith. To thee Eugamos raised this far-seen monument, for thou wert dearest to him of all who for him toiled.

[29] ἔπειτα Ξάνθου τοῦ Ἀθηναίου μουσικοῦ· μεθ᾿ ὃν Θεοφράστου διήκουσεν. ἔπειτα μετῆλθεν εἰς Ἀκαδημείαν πρὸς Κράντορα· Μοιρέας μὲν γὰρ ὁ προειρημένος ἀδελφὸς ἦγεν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ ῥητορικήν· ὀ δὲ φιλοσοφίας ἤρα, καὶ αὐτοῦ Κράντωρ ἐρωτικῶς διατεθεὶς ἐπύθετο τὰ ἐξ Ἀνδρομέδας Εὐριπίδου προενεγκάμενος· ὦ παρθέν᾿, εἰ σώσαιμί σ᾿, εἴσει μοι χάριν; καὶ ὃς τὰ ἐχόμενα· ἄγου μ᾿, ὦ ξέν᾿, εἴτε δμωΐδ᾿ ἐθέλεις εἴτ᾿ ἄλοχον. ἐκ τούτου συνήστην ἀλλήλοιν· [30] ἵνα καὶ τὸν Θεόφραστον κνιζόμενόν φασιν εἰπεῖν ὡς εὐφυὴς καὶ εὐεπιχείρητος ἀπεληλυθὼς τῆς διατριβῆς εἴη νεανίσκος. καὶ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς λόγοις ἐμβριθέστατος καὶ φιλογράμματος ἱκανῶς γενόμενος ἥπτετο καὶ ποιητικῆς. […] ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς Μηνόδωρον τὸν Εὐγάμου ἑνὸς τῶν συσχολαστῶν ἐρώμενον· [31] τηλοῦ μὲν Φρυγίη, τηλοῦ δ᾿ ἱερὴ Θυάτειρα· ὦ Μηνόδωρε, σὴ πατρίς, Καδανάδη. ἀλλὰ γὰρ εἰς Ἀχέροντα τὸν οὐ φατὸν ἶσα κέλευθα, ὡς αἶνος ἀνδρῶν, πάντοθεν μετρεύμενα. σῆμα δέ τοι τόδ᾿ ἔρεξεν ἀριφραδὲς Εὔγαμος, ᾧ σὺ πολλῶν πενεστέων ἦσθα προσφιλέστατος.

40

He lived openly with Theodete and Phila, the Elean courtesans, and to those who censured him he quoted the maxims of Aristippos. He was also fond of boys and very susceptible. Hence he was accused by Ariston of Chios, the Stoic, and his followers, who called him a corrupter of youth and a shameless teacher of sexual license[25]. He is said to have been particularly enamoured of Demetrios who sailed to Cyrene, and of Kleochares of Myrlea[26]; of him the story is told that, when a band of revellers came to the door, he told them that for his part he was willing to admit them but that Kleochares would not let him. This same youth had amongst his admirers Demochares[27] the son of Laches, and Pythokles the son of Bougelos, and once when Arkesilaos had caught them, with great forbearance he ordered them off. For all this he was assailed and ridiculed by the critics abovementioned, as a friend of the mob who courted popularity.

[40] καὶ Θεοδότῃ τε καὶ Φίλᾳ ταῖς Ἠλείαις ἑταίραις συνῴκει φανερῶς καὶ πρὸς τοὺς διασύροντας προεφέρετο τὰς Ἀριστίππου χρείας. φιλομειράκιός τε ἦν καὶ καταφερής: ὅθεν οἱ περὶ Ἀρίστωνα τὸν Χῖον στωικοὶ ἐπεκάλουν αὐτῷ, φθορέα τῶν νέων καὶ κιναιδολόγον καὶ θρασὺν ἀποκαλοῦντες. [41] καὶ γὰρ δὴ καὶ Δημητρίου τοῦ πλεύσαντος εἰς Κυρήνην ἐπὶ πλέον ἐρασθῆναι λέγεται, καὶ Κλεοχάρους τοῦ Μυρλεανοῦ: ἐφ᾽ ᾧ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς κωμάσαντας εἰπεῖν αὐτὸς μὲν θέλειν ἀνοῖξαι, ἐκεῖνον δὲ διακωλύειν. τούτου δὲ ἤρων καὶ Δημοχάρης ὁ Λάχητος καὶ Πυθοκλῆς ὁ τοῦ Βουγέλου: οὓς καταλαβὼν ὑπ᾽ ἀνεξικακίας παραχωρεῖν ἔφη. διὰ ταῦτα δὴ οὖν ἔδακνόν τε αὐτὸν οἱ προειρημένοι καὶ ἐπέσκωπτον ὡς φίλοχλον καὶ φιλόδοξον.

 

 

IV.7  Bion  Βίων

Bion (ca. 325-250 BC) was a Greek native of Olbia in Scythia.

46

Here Bion is recounting his origins to Antigonos “Gonatas”, King of the Macedonians:

Afterwards my father, who had cheated the revenue in some way, was sold with all his family. And I, then a not ungraceful youngster, was bought by a certain rhetorician, who on his death left me all he had.

ἔπειτα ὁ πατὴρ παρατελωνησάμενός τι πανοίκιος ἐπράθη μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν. καί με ἀγοράζει τις ῥήτωρ νεώτερον ὄντα καὶ εὔχαριν· ὃς καὶ ἀποθνήσκων κατέλιπέ μοι πάντα.

 

47-48

He left very many memoirs, and also sayings of useful application. For example, when he was reproached for not paying court to a youth, his excuse was, “You can’t get hold of a soft cheese with a hook.”

[47] πλεῖστά τε καταλέλοιπεν ὑπομνήματα, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀποφθέγματα χρειώδη πραγματείαν περιέχοντα. οἷον ὀνειδιζόμενος ἐπὶ τῷ μὴ θηρᾶσαι μειράκιον, [48] “οὐχ οἷόν τε,” εἶπεν, “ἁπαλὸν 48τυρὸν ἀγκίστρῳ ἐπισπᾶσθαι.”

 

49

He even abused Sokrates, declaring that, if he felt desire for Alkibiades and abstained, he was a fool; if he did not, his conduct was in no way remarkable. The road to Hades, he used to say, was easy to travel; at any rate men passed away with their eyes shut. He said in censure of Alkibiades that in his boyhood he drew away the husbands from their wives, and as a young man the wives from their husbands.[28]

[49] διέβαλε δὲ καὶ τὸν Σωκράτην, λέγων ὡς εἰ μὲν εἶχεν Ἀλκιβιάδου χρείαν καὶ ἀπείχετο, μάταιος ἦν· εἰ δὲ μὴ εἶχεν, οὐδὲν ἐποίει παράδοξον. εὔκολον ἔφασκε τὴν εἰς ᾅδου ὁδόν· καταμύοντας γοῦν ἀπιέναι. τὸν Ἀλκιβιάδην μεμφόμενος ἔλεγεν ὡς νέος μὲν ὢν τοὺς ἄνδρας ἀπαγάγοι τῶν γυναικῶν, νεανίσκος δὲ γενόμενος τὰς γυναῖκας τῶν ἀνδρῶν.

 

53

It was his custom also to adopt certain youths[29] for the gratification of his appetite and in order that he might be protected by their goodwill. […] And yet there were some who followed his lead in shamelessness. For instance, Betion, one of his intimates, is said once to have addressed Menedemos[30] in these words: “For my part, Menedemos, I pass the night with Bion, and I don’t think I am any the worse for it.”

[53] εἰώθει τε νεανίσκων τινῶν υἱοθεσίας ποιεῖσθαι εἰς τὸ ἀποχρῆσθαι αὐτοῖς ἔς τε τὰς ἡδονὰς καὶ ὥστε φυλάττεσθαι ὑπ᾿ εὐνοίας αὐτῶν· [… 54] καίτοι τινὰς εἰς ἀναισχυντίαν προῆγεν. ὁ γοῦν Βητίων εἷς τῶν συνήθων αὐτῷ πρὸς Μενέδημόν ποτε λέγεται εἰπεῖν, “ἐγώ τοι, ὦ Μενέδημε, νύκτωρ συνδέομαι Βίωνι καὶ οὐδὲν ἄτοπον δοκῶ μοι πεπονθέναι.”

 

 

V.2  Theophrastos  Θεόφραστος

Theophrastos (372/0-ca. 288/6 BC) was an Eresian who succeeded Aristotle as head of the Peripatetic school of the Lyceum.

39

And Aristippos, in his fourth book On the Luxury of the Ancients, asserts that he was enamoured of Aristotle’s son Nikomachos,[31] although he was his teacher.

[39] οὗ καὶ τοῦ υἱέος Νικομάχου φησὶν ἐρωτικῶς διατεθῆναι, καίπερ ὄντα διδάσκαλον, Ἀρίστιππος ἐν τετάρτῳ Περὶ παλαιᾶς τρυφῆς.

 

52

Included in Theophrastos’s will:

It is also my wish that the statue of Nikomachos[32] should be completed of life size. The price agreed upon for the making of the statue itself has been paid to Praxiteles, but the rest of the cost should be defrayed from the source above mentioned. The statue should be set up in whatever place seems desirable to the executors entrusted with carrying out my other testamentary dispositions.

βούλομαι δὲ καὶ τὴν Νικομάχου εἰκόνα συντελεσθῆναι ἴσην. τὸ μὲν τῆς πλάσεως ἔχει Πραξιτέλης, τὸ δ᾿ ἄλλο ἀνάλωμα ἀπὸ τούτου γενέσθω. σταθῆναι δὲ ὅπου ἂν δοκῇ τοῖς καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐπιμελουμένοις τῶν ἐν τῇ διαθήκῃ γεγραμμένων.

 

 

V.5  Demetrios  Δημήτριος

Demetrios (ca. 350-ca. 280 BC), known as “of Phaleron”, was an Athenian statesman.

 

76

On what Favorinus wrote about Demetrios in the first books of his Reminiscences [written in the 2^nd century and since lost]

Further, in his second book Favorinus alleges that he was had by[33] Kleon.

[76] ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὸ Κλέωνος πεπονθέναι ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ ἱστορεῖ.

 

 

VI.2  Diogenes Διογένης

Diogenes of Sinope (ca. 413-323 BC) was a Cynic philosopher sexually most famous for his habit of wanking in public and remarking that “he wished it were as easy to relieve hunger by rubbing an empty stomach” (this book 46 and 69).

47

To a teenage boy[34] who complained of the number of people who annoyed him by their attentions he said, “Cease to hang out a sign of invitation.”

πρὸς τὸ καταιτιώμενον μειράκιον τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἐνοχλούντων, “παῦσαι γάρ,” ἔφη, “καὶ σὺ τὰ δείγματα τοῦ πασχητιῶντος περιφέρων.”

53

Noticing a good-looking teenage boy[35] lying in an exposed position, he nudged him and said, “Wake up!” Lest someone thrust a spear in your back while you sleep.[36]

Μειράκιον εὔμορφον ἀφυλάκτως ἰδὼν κοιμώμενον, νύξας, “ἐπέγειραι,” ἔφη, μή τίς τοι εὕδοντι μεταφρένῳ ἐν δόρυ πήξῃ.

 

54

Seeing a teenage boy[37] dressing with elaborate care, he said, “If it’s for men, you’re a fool; if for women, a knave.” One day he detected a teenage boy[38] blushing. “Courage,” quoth he, “that is the hue of virtue.”

μειράκιον ἰδὼν καλλωπιζόμενον ἔφη, “εἰ μὲν πρὸς ἄνδρας, ἀτυχεῖς· εἰ δὲ πρὸς γυναῖκας, ἀδικεῖς.” ἰδών ποτε μειράκιον ἐρυθριῶν, “θάρρει,” ἔφη· “τοιοῦτόν ἐστι τῆς ἀρετῆς τό χρῶμα.”

 

61

Asked where a boy who had become a prostitute was from, “From Tegea,” he said [39]

περὶ παιδὸς πεπορνευκότος ἐρωτηθεὶς πόθεν εἴη, “Τεγεάτης,” ἔφη.

 

62

A boy having shown him a dagger that he had received from an admirer[40], Diogenes remarked, “A pretty blade with an ugly handle.”[41]

Δείξαντος αὐτῷ παιδαρίου μάχαιραν ἣν εἰλήφει παρ᾿ ἐραστοῦ, “ἡ μὲν μάχαιρα,” ἔφη, “καλή, ἡ δὲ λαβὴ αἰσχρά·”

 

VI.5  Krates Κράτης

Krates (ca. 365-ca. 285 BC) was a Theban Cynic.

90-1

At Thebes he was flogged by the master of the gymnasium—another version being that it was by Euthykrates and at Corinth; and being dragged by the heels, he called out, as if it did not affect him:​ Seized by the foot and dragged o’er heaven’s high threshold:[42] Diokles, however, says that it was by Menedemos of Eretria[43] that he was thus dragged. For he being handsome and being thought to be intimate with Asklepiades the Phliasian[44], Krates slapped him on the side with a brutal taunt; whereupon Menedemos, full of indignation, dragged him along, and he declaimed as above.

[90] ἐν Θήβαις ὑπὸ τοῦ γυμνασιάρχου μαστιγωθείς—οἱ δέ, ἐν Κορίνθῳ ὑπ᾿ Εὐθυκράτους—καὶ ἑλκόμενος τοῦ ποδὸς ἐπέλεγεν ἀφροντιστῶν,​ ἕλκε ποδὸς τεταγὼν διὰ βηλοῦ θεσπεσίοιο. [91] Διοκλῆς δέ φησιν ἑλχθῆναι αὐτὸν ὑπὸ Μενεδήμου τοῦ Ἐρετρικοῦ. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εὐπρεπὴς ἦν καὶ ἐδόκει χρησιμεύειν Ἀσκληπιάδῃ τῷ Φλιασίῳ, ἁψάμενος αὐτοῦ τῶν μηρῶν ὁ Κράτης ἔφη, “ἔνδον Ἀσκληπιάδης.” ἐφ᾿ ᾧ δυσχεράναντα τὸν Μενέδημον ἕλκειν αὐτόν, τὸν δὲ τοῦτο ἐπιλέγειν.

 

 

VII.1  Zenon Ζήνων

Zenon of Kition in Cyprus (334/3-262/1 BC) was the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy.

13

Rarely, he made use of young boys[45]; once or twice indeed he might have a young girl to wait on him in order not to seem a misogynist. He shared the same house with Persaios, and when the latter brought in a little flute-player he lost no time in leading her straight to Persaios.

παιδαρίοις τε ἐχρῆτο σπανίως, ἅπαξ ἢ δίς που παιδισκαρίῳ τινί, ἵνα μὴ δοκοίη μισογύνης εἶναι, σύν τε Περσαίῳ τὴν αὐτὴν οἰκίαν ᾤκει· καὶ αὐτοῦ αὐλητρίδιον εἰσαγαγόντος πρὸς αὐτόν, σπάσας πρὸς τὸν Περσαῖον αὐτὸ ἀπήγαγεν.

 

17

Being enamoured of Chremonides, as he and Kleanthes were sitting beside the youth,[46] he got up, and upon Kleanthes expressing surprise, “Good physicians tell us,” said he, “that the best cure for inflammation is repose.”

ἐρωτικῶς δὲ διακείμενος Χρεμωνίδου, παρακαθιζόντων αὐτοῦ τε καὶ Κλεάνθους, ἀνέστη· θαυμάζοντος δὲ τοῦ Κλεάνθους ἔφη “καὶ τῶν ἰατρῶν ἀκούω τῶν ἀγαθῶν, κράτιστον εἶναι φάρμακον πρὸς τὰ φλεγμαίνοντα ἡσυχίαν.”

 

18

To a lover of boys he remarked, “Just as schoolmasters lose their common-sense by spending all their time with boys, so it is with people like you.”[47]

πρὸς δὲ τὸν φιλόπαιδα οὔτε τοὺς διδασκάλους ἔφη φρένας ἔχειν, ἀεὶ διατρίβοντας ἐν παιδαρίοις, οὔτ᾿ ἐκείνους.

21

To the fair youth, who gave it as his opinion that the wise man would not fall in love, his reply was: “Then who can be more hapless than you fair youths?”

πρὸς τὸν καλὸν εἰπόντα ὅτι οὐ δοκεῖ αὐτῷ ἐρασθήσεσθαι ὁ σοφός “οὐδέν,” ἔφη, “ὑμῶν ἀθλιώτερον ἔσεσθαι τῶν καλῶν.”

 

129

Included in “a general account of all the Stoic doctrines, since [Zenon] was the school’s founder”:

Further, they say that the wise man will fall in love with[48] the youths who by their countenance show a natural endowment for virtue. So Zenon in his Republic, Chrysippos in book i. of his work On Modes of Life, and Apollodoros in his Ethics.

καὶ ἐρασθήσεσθαι δὲ τὸν σοφὸν τῶν νέων τῶν ἐμφαινόντων διὰ τοῦ εἴδους τὴν πρὸς ἀρετὴν εὐφυΐαν, ὥς φησι Ζήνων ἐν τῇ Πολιτείᾳ καὶ Χρύσιππος ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ Περὶ βίων καὶ Ἀπολλόδωρος ἐν τῇ Ἠθικῇ.

 

VII. 3  Herillos Ἥριλλος

Herillos of Chalkedon was a 3^rd century BC Stoic philosopher.

166

He is said to have had many in love with him[49] when a boy; and as Zenon wished to drive them away, he compelled Herillos to have his head shaved, which turned them away[50].

Λέγεται δ᾿ ὅτι παιδὸς ὄντος αὐτοῦ ἠράσθησαν ἱκανοί, οὓς ἀποτρέψαι βουλόμενος ὁ Ζήνων ἠνάγκασε ξυρᾶσθαι Ἥριλλον, οἱ δ᾿ ἀπετράποντο.

 

 

VII.5  Kleanthes Κλεάνθης

Kleanthes of Assos (331/0-230/29 BC) was a boxer and Stoic philosopher.

172

Hekaton, in his Anecdotes, says that when a beautiful teenage boy said, “If someone who pokes at one’s belly [gastera] ‘bellies’ [gastrizei], then someone who pokes at one’s thigh [merous] ‘thighs’ [merizei],”[51] Kleanthes answered, “Do as you like with your thighs, boy, but similar words do not necessarily mean the same things.”[52]

φησὶ δ᾿ ὁ Ἑκάτων ἐν ταῖς Χρείαις, εὐμόρφου μειρακίου εἰπόντος, “εἰ ὁ εἰς τὴν γαστέρα τύπτων γαστρίζει, καὶ ὁ εἰς τοὺς μηροὺς τύπτων μηρίζει,” ἔφη, “σὺ μέντοι τοὺς διαμηρισμοὺς ἔχε, μειράκιον· αἱ δ᾿ ἀνάλογοι φωναὶ τὰ ἀνάλογα οὐ πάντως σημαίνουσι πράγματα.”

 

 

VIII.2  Empedokles Ἐμπεδοκλῆς

Empedokles (ca. 494-ca. 434 BC) was an Akragasian philosopher.

60-61

This Pausanias, according to Aristippos and Satyros, was his beloved[53], to whom he dedicated his poem On Nature thus:  Give ear, Pausanias, thou son of Anchitos the wise!

[60] ἦν δ᾿ ὁ Παυσανίας, ὥς φησιν Ἀρίστιππος καὶ Σάτυρος, ἐρώμενος αὐτοῦ, ᾧ δὴ καὶ τὰ Περὶ φύσεως προσπεφώνηκεν οὕτως·      [61] Παυσανίη, σὺ δὲ κλῦθι, δαΐφρονος Ἀγχίτου υἰέ.

 

VIII.8  Eudoxos Εὔδοξος

Eudoxos of Knidos (ca. 393-ca. 340 BC) was an astronomer and mathematician.

86

When he was about twenty-three years old and in straitened circumstances, he was attracted by the reputation of the Socratics and set sail for Athens with Theomedon the physician, who provided for his wants. Some even say that he was Theomedon’s loved-boy[54].

γενόμενον γὰρ ἐτῶν τριῶν που καὶ εἴκοσι καὶ στενῶς διακείμενον κατὰ κλέος τῶν Σωκρατικῶν εἰς Ἀθήνας ἀπᾶραι σὺν Θεομέδοντι τῷ ἰατρῷ, τρεφόμενον ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ· οἱ δέ, καὶ παιδικὰ ὄντα·

 

 

IX.5  Zenon Ζήνων

This Zenon (ca. 490-ca. 430 BC) was an Elean philosopher.

25

Apollodoros in his Chronology says that he was the son of Teleutagoras by birth, but of Parmenides[55] by adoption, while Parmenides was the son of Pyres. […] Zenon, then, was all through a pupil of Parmenides and his loved-boy[56].

τοῦτον Ἀπολλόδωρός φησιν εἶναι ἐν Χρονικοῖς [Πύρητος τὸν δὲ Παρμενίδην] φύσει μὲν Τελευταγόρου, θέσει δὲ Παρμενίδου τὸν δὲ Παρμενίδην Πύρητος. […]Ὁ δὴ Ζήνων διακήκοε Παρμενίδου καὶ γέγονεν αὐτοῦ παιδικά.

 

^[1] Hicks renders this last phrase as “Aristoxenos asserts that Archelaus was very fond of him”, thus removing the sexual implications of παιδικὰ, a common word for the boy in a pederastic love affair.

^[2] Feeling unable to ignore a whole phrase about Alkibiades’s beauty, Hicks exaggerates Sokrates’s lack of interest in it by translating ὑπερεῖδεν as “scorned” instead of ”ignored”. Alkibiades recounted his unsuccessful attempt to seduce Sokrates in Plato’s Symposium, beginning at 216d. Nevertheless, Alkibiades and Sokrates were regarded as lovers. They are presented as already well-established lovers in Plato’s dialogue Protagoras, set in 435/4. Alkibiades’s year of birth can be fixed almost certainly as 450 BC (from his first military service in 431 and Thoukydides’s comments about his first generalship in the spring of 420 BC; so he was about 15 in the Protagoras.

^[3] Perhaps the Kleinias who appears as a boy with many admirers in Plato’s dialogue Euthydemos set in 412/1 BC, when Xenophon, born about 430 BC, was about 18: a little young to be an erastes, but certainly not impossibly so.

^[4] Here, with a dishonesty perhaps unrivalled in the whole series of the Loeb classics, Hicks has omitted three sentences that were presumably especially offensive to him because they not only mentioned homosexual relations, but took it for granted that pederasty is subject to the same moral considerations as sex with women. So, in between “ ‘She is beautiful?’ ” and “When this was admitted”, Hicks has substituted: “ ‘And the use of beauty is to be enjoyed?’ ‘Yes’.”

^[5] Hicks desexualised this last sentence by substituting for it “namely, that he who uses anything for the purpose for which it is useful does no wrong.”

^[6] Almost certainly in the fighting against Elis 401 BC, described in Xenophon’s Hellenika III 2 xxi-xxxi. He was still a boy in Plato’s dialogue named after him, the Phaidon, set at the time of Sokrates’s execution in 399 BC.

^[7] Characteristically, Hicks uses “house of ill-fame” as a euphemism for brothel, the meaning of οἰκήματος in this context.

^[8] The statesman and general Dion (age quite unknown; killed 354/3 BC) was a brother-in-law of the tyrant of Syracuse. He had stayed in Athens in his youth and become a disciple of Plato. The enduring bond between Plato and Dion, whom she depicts as having once been lovers, presumably on the basis of the epigrams which follow, is a main theme of Mary Renault’s excellent novel, The Mask of Apollo (London: Longmans, 1966)

^[9] Modern scholars seem all to agree that Plato cannot literally have been enamoured of the Phaidros famous from Plato’s dialogue of that name, as that Phaidros was at least twenty years older than him. Sometimes, it is therefore postulated that a different Phaidros was meant. The statement here that Plato loved a Phaidros is likely based on the epigram quoted below, a footnote to which explains the implications if the famous  Phaidros of the dialogue was really meant.

^[10] The Greek Anthology VII 669-70. Aster, meaning a star, was a common name, but could easily be a metaphor or a pun. Modern scholarly opinion is sharply divided as to whether any of the epigrams ascribed to Plato in The Greek Anthology were really his, but these two are considered among the more likely to be on account of their higher quality. See a much fuller discussion in the article The Epigrams Attributed to Plato.

^[11] The Greek Anthology VII 99. There is abundant historical evidence of a strong bond between Pato and Dion. Some modern scholars consider this to be the only epigram in The Greek Anthology truly by Plato. Opposition to its authenticity seems largely to have been based on distaste for the idea of Plato expressing passionate homosexual love. See the many persuasive arguments in favour of Plato’s authorship by Sir Maurice Bowra and a much fuller discussion in the article The Epigrams Attributed to Plato.

^[12] The Greek Anthology VII 100. Modern scholarly opinion as to whether Plato really wrote this epigram is sharply divided. Despite sharply disagreeing, D. L. Page and Sir Maurice Bowra agree that the famous Phaidros of Plato’s dialogue is being referred to, and that Plato cannot really have been enamoured of him, since he was more than twenty years older. For Page, this means it is an ill-considered forgery. For Bowra, this means Plato was not writing about his own loves here, but about love for Phaidros, who was of abiding interest to him. See a much fuller discussion in the article The Epigrams Attributed to Plato.

^[13] The Greek Anthology V 78. It is generally agreed that the Athenian tragedian Agathon (in whose house Plato’s Symposium is set) is meant. D. L. Page and Sir Maurice Bowra give similar arguments against and for believing Plato was the author of this epigram to those for the preceding one. See a much fuller discussion in the article The Epigrams Attributed to Plato.

^[14] Hicks again omits pederastic content by mistranslating μειρακίοις συνόντα as “the irregularities of his life” instead of “his affairs with adolescent boys.” This passage may be unique in ancient Greek literature and thus fascinating in showing a woman hostile to her husband’s love affairs with boys.

^[15] Continuing with his dishonest policy of diminishing references to pederasty, Hicks translates ἐρώμενος as “a favourite” instead of “the beloved”.

^[16] The Greek Anthology VII 103.

^[17] Arkesilaos was Krates’s successor as Scholarch of the Academy. His biography follows in due course.

^[18] Theophrastos (372/70–288/86 BC) was a Peripatetic philosopher and Aristotle’s successor as the head of the Lyceum. His life and views are discussed at 5.36–57.

^[19] Again, Hicks translates ἐρώμενος as “favourite” instead of “beloved”.

^[20] Typically, Hicks dilutes pederastic eros into mere affection by mistranslating καίπερ ἐρῶντος as “the affection which united the two” instead of “he [Kantor] being his lover”.

^[21] Nauck, T.G.F², Eur. 129. [Translator’s note]

^[22] Nauck, T.G.F², Eur. 132. [Translator’s note]

^[23] Hicks uses “favourite” as a euphemism for ἐρώμενον, instead of beloved.

^[24] Anth. plan. ii. 382. [Translator’s note]

^[25] Hicks mistranslates κιναιδολόγον as “immorality” instead of “sexual license”, which misses its sexual implications.

^[26] Kleochares of Myrlea became an orator and rhetorician.

^[27] This Demochares (ca. 360–275 BC) followed his uncle, the famous Demosthenes, as an orator and demagogue.

^[28] Alkibiades was a famously beautiful boy who treated his many men admirers scandalously, as recounted by Plutarch in his Life of Alkibiades, which also describes his adulteries as a man.

^[29] Hicks translates νεανίσκων as “young men”, but the word is a diminutive of νεᾱνίᾱς meaning “young man” and denotes something still younger, ie. a youth.

^[30] Menedemos was the founder of the Eretrian school of philosophy and the subject of one of Diogenes Laertios’s biographies in Book II.

^[31] Nikomachos was born sometime after his father’s return to Athens in 335 BC, so he was at least 35 years younger than Theophrastos and perhaps much more. The statement that Theophrastos was believed to be his lover is confirmed by the Souda ν 398.

^[32] Presumably the same Nikomachos, known from other sources to have died in battle whilst still a youth.

^[33] ὑπὸ … πεπονθέναι has here been translated as “was had by” instead of Hicks’s unnecessarily and typically negative “suffered violence from”. The inference is in either case sexual.

^[34] Hicks’s translation of μειράκιον as “young man” has been replaced by “teenage boy”, which is much more accurate since a μειράκιον belonged to the 14-20 age range (see this website’s glossary for further detail).

^[35] Hicks’s translation of μειράκιον as “youth” has been replaced by “teenage boy”, which is closer to the age range represented by μειράκιον.

^[36] Diogenes has changed a line from the Iliad V 40, substituting “while you sleep” for “as you turn to flee”, thus introducing a sexual double entendre. Hicks’s translation of “ἐπέγειραι,” ἔφη, μή τίς τοι εὕδοντι μεταφρένῳ ἐν δόρυ πήξῃ as “cried, ‘Up, man, up, lest some foe thrust a dart into thy back!’” has been replaced by the more accurate “said ‘Wake up’ Lest someone thrust a spear in your back while you sleep.”

^[37] Hicks’s translation of μειράκιον as “youth” has been replaced by “teenage boy”, which is closer to the age range represented by μειράκιον.

^[38] Hicks’s translation of μειράκιον as “youth” has been replaced by “teenage boy”, which is closer to the age range represented by μειράκιον.

^[39] Here Diogenes is playing on words. Tegea was a city in Arcadia, while tegos means “brothel.” Hicks outdoes himself in dishonest evasion here, omitting this sentence entirely.

^[40] Hicks’s translation of ἐραστοῦ as “admirer” (so with nothing sexual admitted), has been replaced with the much more usual “lover”, though “admirer” is actually more accurate in the sense that the ἐραστοῦ need not (and in this case likely had not) yet won the boy. An erastes was most actually someone in love.

^[41] This is also a pun.  λαβὴ can mean both a “hilt” and a “chance to seize a prize.” Diogenes is thus implying the lover’s motive giving the dagger was purely to seduce the boy.

^[42] This is a quote from Homer, Iliad 1.591, in which the god Hephaestos recalls how his father, Zeus, hurled him from Olympos.

^[43] This Menedemos (ca. 339-265 BC), belonged to the Eretrian school of philosophy, was the subject of a biography by Diogenes Laertios in Book II.

^[44] Asklepiades of Phleious (ca. 350-ca. 270 BC) was, like Menedemos, who was about eleven years younger than him, a philosopher of the Eretrian school. His close friendship with Menedemos was described in Diogenes Laertios’s biography of the latter in Book II, but without making clear they were “intimate”, as here.

^[45] Hicks’s translation of παιδαρίοις τε ἐχρῆτο as “employed men-servants” has been replaced by “made use of young boys”.  For ἐχρῆτο, “made use of” is less apt to be misunderstood.  His translation of παιδαρίοις as “men-servants”, which is ludicrously dishonest. παιδαρίοις is a diminutive of παῖς, a boy. Diogenes Laertios usually uses μειράκιον (roughly a teenage boy) when speaking of boys in pederastic relationships, so even his using παῖς, would tend to suggest a boy at least a little bit younger, and the diminutive παιδαρίοις suggests someone even younger. Hicks’s dishonesty here is underlined by his accurately translating παιδισκαρίῳ, the exact female equivalent of παιδαρίοις, as “young girls”.

^[46] There is no noun in the Greek text where Hicks has inserted “youth”, presumably beause “him” would have been vague. He could have been younger than a “youth” suggests. Presumably the Athenian statesman Chremonides, prominent in 268-258 BC, is meant, but his age cannot be guessed nearly accurately.

^[47] Zenon’s criticism is a little odd in view of what was said earlier (13) about his own sexual preference. Presumably by “lover of boys”, he meant someone fixated on them in a manner that he was. not

^[48] Hicks resorts to evasion here, mistranslating ἐρασθήσεσθαι as “feel affection for” instead of “fall in love with”.

^[49] Hicks’ “admirers” misses the erotic implications of ἠράσθησαν and has therefore been replaced with “in love with him”.

^[50] Hicks’ “disgusted them” as a translation of ἀπετράποντο has been replaced by the much more accurate “turned them away”.

^[51] The word for belly is γαστέρα, and the verb for striking the belly is γαστρίζει. Using that same formula, the boy invents a word for striking the thighs, μηρίζει. Given that it was well-known (being celebrated on vases) that Greek men sometimes copulated with boys between their thighs, the word would have a decidedly sexual connotation, hence Kleanthes’ warning that analogous words do not always have analogous meanings. 

^[52] Poor Hicks evidently could not cope with the graphic sexual innuendo here, but did not feel he could entirely omit such a long sentence, so he translated it into Latin instead of English! The translation of 172 is thus entirely this website’s. Diogenes Laertios’s punning here is hopefully made clear by the transliterated Greek in italics and alludes (too shockingly for the likes of Hicks) to intercrural sexual intercourse.

^[53] Typically, Hicks mistranslated ἐρώμενος as “bosom-friend” (removing its implication of erotic love) instead of “beloved”.

^[54] Hicks uses the euphemism “favourite” to translate παιδικὰ, which means a boy with a man lover.

^[55] Parmenides was also an Elean philosopher, roughly twenty-five years older than Zenon, and the subject of an earlier biography in Diogenes Laertios’s Book IX.

^[56] Hicks uses the euphemism “favourite” to translate παιδικὰ, which means a boy with a man lover.